So I picked up an 81 4wd pickup about a month ago. One owner truck with 155,000 miles on it. It's actually rust free with the exception of a little cancer in the front of the bed floor. I've had a number of tacomas and ifs pickups but I've always wanted it straight axle 79-85. They are hard to come by around here. So anyway, the truck needed some work with the major worry being the transmission grinding in first gear. So I gave the guy $1,000 got the title and drove it home with hopes of the transmission being a shifter bushing.


So far, I have removed the beer keg he had the truck running off of and got it running off the fuel tank, put Honda civic seats in it, replaced clutch master and slave cly, put exhaust on the truck, new manifold gaskets, got the carb tuned right and the motor running good. Fuel cutoff solenoid was bad and the EGR tube was clogged. Got the AC actually working and blowing cold and replaced heater control valve. Total in the truck now is about $1400 that includes the purchase price.


Original plans were to do RUF or all pro in front , 63" rear, 5.29's, lockers, Hysteer, 35's, header, weber, make some custom bumpers and have a nice trail rig.


I'm thinking now that my L50 transmission is toast and will need replaced or rebuilt. Around here they want 8-900 for rebuild so probably would just buy a Marlin L52 HD if I end up replacing it. With the transmission and the mods above, I'd be sitting at around 6-7k in the truck. It would be nice though. I'm just a little discouraged at this point with the transmission being bad and am on the fence about dumping that much money in a 35 year old truck. I guess I just need a push in one direction or the other.


Here is some pictures of the truck when I first brought it home and one of how it sits now in the garage with the bed removed.

 

It looks like a solid truck from the pictures. It really is going to depend on how much you like the truck. Even for as solid as it is and what you have described, there is going to other problems that you have not found yet. Most can be easily fixed. It if was me, I would just make it a project and tinker with it a little at a time. Most likely you would not get your money back out of it that you put into it. This truck should be a hobby for you and as in any hobby, it will most likely cost you money then you could possibly get back.

Even if you got the truck to where you wanted it to be, would you use it enough to justify the cost you will put into it? I justify mine as I use them daily for driving back and forth to work and keeping miles off of my newer cars.

In my opinion, wheter you have a new truck or an old truck, you are going to have cost involved in some shape or form. Just depends on if you want to do the work your self or have some one else to work on them. The older trucks I can work on.

 

I have about 8k in mine and I regret all the time and money when I could probably get something for 5K that is the same or better. Something to think about.

 

Cheeze I know what you mean. Looks like a nice rig from your avatar picture, If you use the truck a lot, I suppose it would be worth it. Sometimes it worth something to me to say that I built that not bought that. What makes you regret building yours up? Have you had a lot of problems with it?


Around here, if you buy someone elses project, it's never done right and you end up going back fixing there rigging jobs anyway. I like this 81 but at this point it has no significance to me. If my grandpa or dad left it to me then yes no doubt I would fix it up really nice. I'd do all the work myself on it because I do enjoy that, but as far as use, I suppose I could drive it everyday if I wanted. Right now I live about 3 miles from work. I have a stock Tacoma that I drive everyday now but this would save miles on that. My wife and I would go out and play in it probably once or twice a month honestly.

 

I dont regret it, I only drive mine on the weekends. I dont know where you are at but out here on the west coast you can find a daily driver for 2500 ready to be locked and geared. Tires,wheels,springs,lockers,tcase, and a new motor and I could probably get 7 for mine. You are right about doing it yourself. I do know my runner like the back of my hand and i trust my work. Nice looking truck man. Build it, its only money. Ha ha

 

Yeah you only live once right? I've dropped 3k on a 8" lift for a fourwheeler before but that was about 10 years ago. Guess I think about where my money goes a little more as I get older. Yeah here in Arkansas and MS, you can find them but they've been sitting at a deer camp most their lives with the windows down and about 3" of mud caked on the underbody. I'd have around 8k total in this truck if I fixed it like I want and around here, I'd be surprised if I could sell it for 4500-5000. Maybe I'd throw it on Ebay if I ever decided to sell it and someone out west coast might pick it up.

 

Sell much better to go out and get a 2016 Tacoma and have payments Just in one of those moods being Snarky

 

I ended up keeping it. Few pictures here of the finished product. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f114.../#post52355503

 

Congrats! Good to see you kept it. I have had a bunch of these trucks and I know I can't keep em all, but I do regret letting go of one everyday. No one keeps and repairs these for a retirement plan, it's like you said, to say you built that and know it's yours as long as you want it. All car restoration is a money pit, your return is usually around 20% of your investment. Enjoy your rig! And it's an SR5 to boot